[PartiallyTyped]

I agree with your comment and that a typical teenager will probably devote most of their time in non academic or in gaming.

While I did game a bit during childhood and early adolescence, a large portion of it was spent socialising, I really did not socialise with peers during those years and that is a direct consequence of the overbearing and 'strictness' of the grandparents, so I socialised in the only way they couldn't control, through video games and the internet. Thank god World of Warcraft was a thing, it was my only social interaction that was deliberate.^1

My late adolescence, i.e. 15-18 was spent reading on light gaming, reading and watching documentaries. I also received a lot of expose on the hacker(not cracker) culture and that has shaped me a lot as a person, or perhaps it was inevitable since I was and still am the same curious child that I was back then.

PS. gaming has also helped me in many regards that are not perceptible to an outside observer, such as self discipline and setting goals and theory crafting. All of which have stayed with me and have probably made me a better scientist.

^1 I understand the difference between 'real' social interaction and 'virtual' interaction but I will take it over nothing.